


RACHEL

by Owwwwl



Category: Original Work
Genre: Detectives, F/M, Gen, Murder, Organized Crime, Police, Screenplay/Script Format
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:40:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25769824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Owwwwl/pseuds/Owwwwl
Summary: Rachel disappeared five years ago, leaving her fiance Sean broken-hearted and unable to move on. Now, after her body is found, Sean teams up with police officers Joe and Nadine to find her killer and provide closure once and for all.





	RACHEL

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I wrote this for school. Figured I'd post it here. I'm not expecting this to get much attention, so if you're reading, thank you so much!

RACHEL

**Scene One**

_ (There is an alleyway lit in a dim glow. It is early in the morning, and the sun is just rising. Graffiti mars the back brick wall, and there are a few overflowing trash cans lining the wall. A man named SEAN, dressed in a long dark colored coat, walks into the alleyway. He stops before mid-stage, and shifts his feet, lighting a cigarette and anxiously looking around. He taps his foot and quickly checks his watch. He leans against the back wall and sighs. A man named JOE peeks his head into the stage before quietly walking up to SEAN. SEAN jumps up and looks at JOE, breathing heavily. There is a moment of silence.) _

SEAN

_(Fidgeting, delivering the lines with rushed anxiety)_

Joe! Oh, Joe, you’ve got to tell me what happened. I’ve heard news but… You can take what reporters say these days with a grain of salt, you know? I want the truth. The full truth.

JOE

_ (sighing and wringing his hands. He says his words slowly, with slight hesitation.) _

Last night, around midnight, the authorities received an anonymous tip about a - a body. A body of a woman floating in a bog, out in the country. They sent a team out and uncovered her. She must’ve been floating there for a while, and the swampy climate preserved her body. When.. they did a forensic report-

SEAN

_ (Abrupt, cutting JOE off; trying not to sob) _

It was Rachel wasn’t it? It was Rachel, and she was- she was- she was murdered. Murdered and left in the swamp for 5 years. 5 years, Joe! I’ve been waiting for 5 years!

JOE

_ (sympathetic but strained) _

Yes, it… it was Rachel. Sean, you have to understand. Even if she was murdered we can’t do anything about it now. The bog washed away all evidence that might’ve been found on her body, and she was a well-liked person. You of all people should know that. Nobody had any motivation to kill her! 

SEAN

_ (yelling, but crying all the same) _

Then who told the police she ran away! 5 years, Joe. 5 years I had to deal with stupid cops with no clue that Rachel, my Rachel, would never do such a thing. Someone was out to get her. I know it. 

JOE

_ (resigned) _

I’m sorry, Sean, I really am, but we can’t investigate a case without any evidence. If you had a clue, any clue, we might be able to, but you don’t. Again, I’m sorry, but at least you can bury a body now.

SEAN

_ (breaking down) _

You- you- you condescending piece of shit! I thought I could trust you! And this is what you give me? A body but no justice? You- you…

(he turns away from JOE and cries)

JOE

_ (he goes to place his hand on SEAN’s shoulder, but decides against it.) _

I should’ve never told you this. I wasn’t supposed to, you know; this is against the rules in the first place. An officer is gonna swing by your place later this afternoon to tell you the news. Please don’t get angry at them, Sean. Please. We’re doing all we can, believe us.

SEAN

_ (Wiping his nose with his shirt sleeve, sniffling. Delivered with barely contained rage) _

You can do more, Sean, and you know it. You knew Rachel- you knew how wonderful she was. And her murderer will go free because of you. How does that make you feel, huh? How does that make you feel?

_ (SEAN angrily exits the stage. JOE is left behind in the alley. It is now completely light outside. He checks his watch, bites his lip, and puts his hand in his pockets. He looks at where SEAN left with a sad look and stares for a few moments. He leaves the stage slowly, his head downwards and his feet dragging.) _

JOE

_ (whispering while leaving) _

I’m sorry. I’m… I’m sorry.

**Scene Two**

_ (White lights rise on a police station. There are a bunch of desks, and officers and workers bustle about, typing and collecting paperwork. JOE walks in from stage left in uniform, weary. He rubs his head, then spots someone. He walks over to a desk where a woman named NADINE works.) _

NADINE

_(whispering, gossipy curiosity evident)_

How’d it go?

JOE

_ (scoffing) _

Like a lead balloon. God, you would’ve thought he would’ve gotten over it already! Or maybe gotten counseling or something. It’s been five years and he reacts like it happened yesterday! I can’t believe him.

NADINE

Well, you gotta give the guy a break, Joe. His fiancee was just declared dead, after all. Maybe he had hoped that she was actually alive all along. And you and I both know Sean was never the most stable.

JOE

_ (sighing, and leaning on NADINE’s desk) _

It just- he’s gonna do something stupid, Nadine. I just know it. The look on his face… I bet he’s going to take matters into his own hands.

NADINE

_ (swiveling her chair in order to face JOE) _

And nobody wants that. 

_ (she pauses for a few seconds, pondering) _

Was there ever any follow up on… y’know… 

_ (her voice becomes quieter) _

...the lead we got on Rachel’s investigation?

JOE

_ (sudden and cross) _

No. It’s too unrealistic; the case is cold, and that’s that. What we were looking into… it’s way too far-fetched. No use to pry further now. Sean has some closure, hopefully he’ll bury the body and be done with it. Find another girl, maybe. I can’t- I can’t reopen old wounds for a 5 year old case. I won’t.

NADINE

Ok then. I just thought it was worth looking into. Was Sean ever informed of it?

JOE

Absolutely not. He’d go after the head-honcho himself if he knew. He’s too volatile, too much of a liability.

NADINE

_ (hesitant, putting her hands on JOE’s forearms) _

But don’t you think it would be better if we told him rather than him finding out on his own? Joe, he’s going to try to find justice; there’s no stopping someone like him. Might as well lead him in the right direction along with a few warnings. And if he finds out on his own? Joe, wave goodbye to your friendship now. That guy could sure hold a grudge.

JOE

_ (softly, regretful) _

Anything that was our friendship dissolved 5 years ago. (a bit louder) And, well, he’ll be mad at me if I tell him now just as much as if I never told him at all.

NADINE

_ (arms falling to her sides) _

I at least think it's worth a try. For Rachel.

JOE

Yeah. Fine. I guess so.

SHERIFF

_ (commanding) _

You two! Stop flirting! 

_ (JOE and NADINE move apart, blushing) _

Joe, you’ve got a call over near the park. And Nadine, get back to work, those papers need to be in by tomorrow. 

JOE

_ (To SHERIFF) _

Of course, sir!

_ (To NADINE) _

I might as well swing by Sean’s place tonight. You’re right, it’s worth a try. Anyway, I gotta go. See you later.

_ (JOE walks out stage right, and NADINE looks at his retreating form.) _

NADINE

Back to work.

_ (Blackout) _

**Scene Three**

( _ Lights come up on a living room. It is dirty and messy, uncleaned for a long time. SEAN sits dejectedly on a lumpy couch, twiddling a cigarette between his fingers. A loud knock is heard offstage. SEAN looks up, sighs, then slowly makes his way to the door, stretching. He opens the door, JOE is there in uniform. They look at each other silently for a moment. _ )

JOE

May I come in?

SEAN

_ (scoffing) _

What do you want, Joe?

_ (SEAN moves out of the way, and strolls over to the couch languidly. JOE follows, more brisk and upright.) _

JOE

_ (standing stiffly in front of the couch, wringing his hands and SEAN lounges onto the couch, kicking his socked feet up on the armrest) _

There’s something we need to talk about. It’s about Rachel, Sean. About her death. 

SEAN

_ (pauses for a moment in shocked silence, then suddenly alert; rushed. SEAN jumps off the couch and onto his feet, grabbing JOE’s arms) _

What? You… I thought you weren’t investigating it! You told me- I- What about it? What happened? Has something changed?

JOE

_ (shaking SEAN off of him) _

There was a lead - back when she first disappeared - but nobody paid any mind to it because there was no evidence. Now, well, I thought I could take it on as a personal project of sorts. Nadine convinced me to give it a chance. Give you a chance, really. To find purpose again.

SEAN

_ (shocked) _

Nadine… Wow. I haven’t talked to her since the... the incident. And what lead? I thought the police gave up on her!

JOE

The police have, Sean. What I’m doing… It’s practically vigilante. This has to be under the table, understand? It has to be under the table. Repeat what I just said so I know you heard me. Sean, just do it.

SEAN

_ (yelling; frustrated) _

I get it! God, I get it. It has to be under the table.

JOE

Ok, thank you, Sean. Sorry. And the lead - well - you know Rachel was adopted, right?

SEAN

Of course I do. I was engaged to her after all. 

JOE

_ (Sitting down on the couch with SEAN) _

Her biological father was involved in some shady business. As of now, it is unclear whether it was run of the mill illegal stuff or organized crime. His name was Daniel Hart, by the way. And despite his exact business being unknown, the involvement of drugs, trafficking and gambling is pretty much a sure thing.

SEAN

_ (Incredulous) _

You think she was taken out mob-style? By her own estranged father? 

JOE

That’s exactly why we didn’t look too much into it back when Rachel first went missing. It sounds crazy, but it's the only lead we have.

SEAN

So we might as well use it, yea? 

_ (he shifts in her seat, letting out a distraught whine) _

But her own dad? A criminal overlord? I never knew about this. She just used to say he wasn’t in her life anymore and leave it like that. We were engaged, supposed to be married! Why did she never tell me!

JOE

_ (looking down) _

Well, she might’ve not even known herself. And if she did, I mean, she might’ve had your best interest in mind by doing so. Her father’s a dangerous person, and she might’ve been trying to protect you.

SEAN

_ (emotional) _

I could’ve protected myself! I could have protected her. If she told me, Joe, if she had told me, do you think she would still be with me now? That we would be married, with… with kids, maybe. Do you think so?

JOE

_ (softly) _

It’s impossible to know. All we could do now is protect her legacy, yea? Investigate a little, see what her father is up to.

SEAN

Ok. Ok, yea. 

_ (louder, with vigor) _

Tomorrow! You have off, right? Be at my house first thing; I’ll have coffee. Bring info about the case too, willya? We’re gonna do this. We’re gonna find her killer. We are...

JOE

_ (nodding) _

We can try.

**Scene Four**

( _ Downstage left Sean’s living room is set up. It is solely lighted, the rest of the stage is dark. It looks slightly cleaner than before, but papers are strewn over various surfaces.. SEAN, JOE, and NADINE are all lounging in assorted places and positions, drinking steaming mugs of coffee. JOE and NADINE are sifting through the papers, and SEAN is on a laptop, the blue glow illuminating his face. _ )

SEAN

_ (With curiosity and excited-ness; Very much awake for the early morning)  _

Daniel Hart. I fell into a rabbit hole last night, researching him on google, y’know. Not much at first, but after you breach the surface?- Whoo boy, the theories are endless! I can’t believe this guy was Rachel’s father. Open, bubbly Rachel.

JOE

Oh, yeah? What did you find on him? He surprisingly has a clean record; all we have on his illegality comes from what others say. This guy sure knows how to cover his tracks and push the blame away from himself.

_ (JOE passes he paper to SEAN, who picks it up and reads it silently) _

NADINE

_ (Looking up from her papers; talking with her hands) _

Law enforcement hates this guy and his kind of sort. You know something, but you don’t have enough evidence to conduct a full-fledged investigation. This kind of thing keeps me awake at night. 

SEAN

_ (nodding) _

All the bad people who walk free in the world… If only everyone had a working moral compass.

_ (Everyone pauses to contemplate. JOE drains the rest of his coffee and sets it down on the coffee table) _

So… Do we think he killed her or something? I’m not a cop, unlike you two. I need a little help in connecting the dots.

JOE

_ (stands up and starts pacing) _

Well, it’s unlikely Daniel himself killed Rachel. If he was involved, he probably ordered a hit. But there’s no motive! That’s what’s confusing the hell out of me. By the time of Rachel’s death, they hadn’t seen each other since she was in elementary school. And we went through her phone records in the primary investigation- nothing out of the ordinary!

NADINE

_ (Sighing, throwing up her hands) _

Ok. We’re not getting anywhere. Let’s just, I don't know, do more research on Hart. Find out more about his history. Get in his head!

SEAN

_ (chuckling) _

What do you want us to do, Nadine? Act out scenarios this guy was supposedly involved in?

NADINE

Why not?

JOE

_ (exhaling loudly and stopping in his tracks) _

You’re serious?

NADINE

Absolutely! We’ve got nothing better to do. How ‘bout… 

_ (NADINE ruffles through a manila folder, pulling out a piece of paper after a moment) _

...the Brownstone case! You guys familiar with it?

SEAN

Well, yeah. Came across it in the rabbit hole last night.

JOE

_ (nods his head. Sits down on a chair) _

NADINE

_ (with slightly tactless eagerness) _

I call being Sheila Draper! That woman… such a personality.

JOE

Guess I’ll be Daniel Hart.

SEAN

And that leaves Alistair Bell for me. (later, as an afterthought) I can’t believe we’re actually doing this.

_ (blackout on the living room. Dim purplish lights rise up on left stage, illuminating a bustling restaurant. On the back wall a neon sign reading “The Brownstone” is seen.) _

**Scene Five**

_ (A bustling restaurant basked in purple light is seen on left stage. The set slowly moves to cover the entire stage as SEAN’s living room is striked. The restaurant is higher quality, and the waiters and waitresses give large meals and alcohol to the guests. A large booth around a circular table is mid stage. It holds two men in suits. The scene is acted in a very campy manner)  _

DANIEL HART 

_ (Lounging confidently in the booth.) _

Alistair, I’m telling you, bud. I can’t do it. Don’t have the cash! Lost badly in the casino the other day. Makes me remember there’s risk in the business, y’know?

_ (takes a large sip of wine and slams the glass back down on the table) _

I can’t help you. Ask someone else.

ALISTAIR BELL

_ (putting elbows on table; exasperated) _

Dan, my man! You can’t do this to me. I’ll pay you back. I promise, Dan. I promise. Help out a friend, will ya?

DANIEL HART

(annoyed, throwing up his hands, spilling wine on the table)

I said no! And you’re not my friend, Alistair. I would never be friends with a snake like you.

WAITER

_ (trying not to intrude; voice meek) _

More wine, sirs?

DANIEL HART

_ (lazily pushing his glass towards the WAITER) _

Fill it up.

ALISTAIR BELL

No, no. I'm fine, thank you. Daniel, just listen to me for a second!

DANIEL HART

Ok, I’m listening. Whatever.

ALISTAIR BELL

_ (pleading) _

I’ll owe you. Not only in money, but in favors. Whatever you want me to do, I’ll do it. I just need this cash.

DANIEL HART

(interested)

Whatever? No questions asked? I’m not sure you know what you’re getting into, brother.

_ (DANIEL sticks out his hand for a handshake. ALISTAIR complies, slightly hesitant.) _

SHEILA DRAPER

_ (Sauntering over, sliding into the booth shamelessly) _

Did I just see a deal close? By gosh, I just saw a deal close. How ‘bout that? 

DANIEL HART

_ (slightly exasperated. Rolling eyes) _

How ‘bout that, honey. Go buy yourself another martini or something.

SHEILA DRAPER

No. I don’t want to. I came over here to tell ya something and I will.

ALISTAIR BELL

(awkward)

Uh, the money. Please.

DANIEL HART

Of course, of course.

_ (DANIEL rummages in his wallet, then slides money discreetly towards ALISTAIR. ALISTAIR takes it, puts it in his wallet, and excuses himself quietly. SHEILA sits down next to DANIEL.) _

Now what’d you want to tell me?

SHEILA

_ (quietly) _

I came over here to save you. That Alistair bloke? Not good, I tell you. He’s up to something.

_ (Police sirens are heard and blue and red lights start flashing. A few officers bust into the room and go straight for HART and DRAPER) _

OFFICER

Daniel Hart, you are under arrest for fraud, embezzlement, and bribery. 

_ (Tableau. The lights freeze and flicker out.) _

NADINE’S VOICE

_ (disembodied but alert) _

Did we ever look further into Alistair Bell? Like, seriously?

JOE’S VOICE

_ (also disembodied) _

Uh, no. I don’t think so.

NADINE’S VOICE

Because he had beef with Hart. Ratted him out to the police. Why not order a hit on his only daughter to rub more salt in the wound?

_ (lights come up on SEAN’S living room where NADINE, SEAN, and JOE are looking at each other expectantly.) _

SEAN

Well let's get to work then!

**Scene 6**

_ (SEAN’s living room is lit up in dim lighting. The electronic clock on a table reads somewhere in the early morning. JOE and NADINE have left. SEAN is sitting in an armchair, slightly dozing. All of the sudden, a sharp knock sounds offstage. SEAN blearily wakes up and stumbles to the door, muttering to himself.) _

SEAN

_ (cranky) _

Who the hell-

_ (he opens the door. A man, CHARLIE, walks onto stage. He is wearing scrappy clothing and has his hands in his pockets. His hair and beard are long and unkept. A cigarette hangs out of his mouth lazily. He walks straight past SEAN, who is glaring and much more awake). _

CHARLIE

_ (looking around) _

Huh. Nice place, I guess.

SEAN

_ (accusatory) _

What the hell are you doing here, Charlie?

CHARLIE

What? I can’t pay a visit to my baby brother?

SEAN

Have you seen the time?!

CHARLIE

_ (Sitting down on the couch and fluffing a pillow in an almost mocking manner) _

Haven’t you heard? I’m a nocturnal now. You should really try it out. Good for your skin, y’know?

SEAN

_ (yelling) _

Cut it out and tell me why you're here!

CHARLIE

Shh. The neighbors are probably sleeping.

SEAN

_ (spluttering, but quieter nonetheless) _

Like- like you care! Spit it out, will ya?

CHARLIE

_ (shifting in his seat, sighing) _

The body on the news. It was Rachel, wasn’t it?

SEAN

_ (freezing. Cutting) _

Yeah. Yeah, it was. What of it?

CHARLIE

_ (incredulous but sarcastic, taking a long drag of his cigarette) _

It’s her body, Sean. It’s kind of a big deal.

SEAN

_ (moving to stand in front of CHARLIE, putting his hands on his hips) _

You’ve never cared. Never once in your pathetic excuse of a life. Why now? Why five years- five years, Charlie- after she went missing? I didn’t see you then, did I?

CHARLIE

The police believed she was alive. I didn’t see the point.

SEAN

The point? We’re family! You should have my back!

CHARLIE

_ (suddenly aggressive. Smashes his cigarette into the coffee table) _

To be honest with you, bud, all these hostile feelings sound more like a you problem than a me problem. Cut the crap or I’ll get up and leave right now, I swear.

SEAN

Go ahead! You think I want you here in the first place? At this time of night? The door is right there and I’ll be just delighted to see you out.

CHARLIE

_ (abruptly stands up; gets in CHARLIE’S face) _

You know what? I do think you want me here in the first place. Not because you’re sentimental or anything like that. No, no, not that. But because I know something! About your little girlfriend!

SEAN

_ (breathing heavily) _

What?

CHARLIE

Yeah I do. But since you want me to leave so badly, I guess I’ll just go then, eh?

_ (pushes past SEAN and tries to go out the door. SEAN grabs his arm and keeps him from leaving) _

Ah. So you do want me here.

SEAN

Tell me. Tell me what you know. I’ll make coffee, just- just sit down and spill.

CHARLIE

I don’t want coffee, I want beer. Get me a beer.

SEAN

I have that too. You’re procrastinating. Talk.

CHARLIE

_ (reaching into his back pocket to pull out a crumpled newspaper) _

That paper… it said her body was found in a bog, right? Any chance it happens to be the one near that old factory? The one that shut down when we were kids?

SEAN

_ (grabbing two beers and handing one to CHARLIE) _

Yeah, that’s it.

CHARLIE

_ (taking a long gulp) _

Yea, well. Five years ago, in the middle of May. I went on this date. The girl was no one worth remembering, but recently one event of that night has been waking me up in a cold sweat.

SEAN

What? What happened?

CHARLIE

We went to this up-and-coming chic restaurant. Y’know, the one wearing Liv used to work as a waitress? Kinda near the bog. Me and my date were talking- she had a dog, I think, and I didn’t like that- when I got up to go to the bathroom. To escape, send a text to a buddy, you know the deal. But there was a line for the men’s room; there’s never a line! So I find the family bathroom- the one room ones with changing tables- and lo and behold! Someone was in there too! Then, naturally, I-

SEAN

_ (interrupting) _

Why are you telling me this? No offense, but I could care less about your bathroom troubles.

CHARLIE

_ (taking a large swing of beer) _

Couldn't care less. Watch your grammar, baby bro.

SEAN

_ (clenching fists) _

Get on with it.

CHARLIE

I start pounding on this door, cause what the hell? Why is this fella taking so long? Eventually, after, like, a year and half, this guy comes rushing out. Rams straight into me, almost knocking me over. Now, usually I would brush this off with a snippy comment, but this guy looked shaken, dude. Shaken.

_ (SEAN leans forward, now interested) _

He’s all sweaty, got bags under his eyes, the whole shebang. He stutters out an apology and leaves just as quick as he came. It was then when I noticed the blood.

SEAN

The blood? What blood?

CHARLIE

I’m getting there, cool it. Anyway, he was holding this rucksack when he bumped into me. It smeared blood all over my white shirt! And unless this guy goes around in bathrooms shadily smearing theater blood on people, it was real. And in the bathroom, everything is spotless. Looked like it was wiped down the moment before I stepped in there. At the time I wrote it off as some crazy guy, druggie maybe, but now, well, now I’m thinking a little differently. This restaurant, Sean, was only about a mile away from where Rachel was found. And that man, I googled him today, was Alistair Bell. I swear it.

SEAN

_ (suddenly standing up) _

Alistair Bell! Are you sure? You said the middle of May, do you have an exact date?

CHARLIE

Uh, I don’t know. I talked briefly with Liv about it afterwards, and she keeps a diary I think. Maybe she recorded it.

SEAN

Hopefully.

_ (SEAN whips his phone out of his pocket and anxiously places it to his ear) _

CHARLIE

Alistair Bell. Is he a… a suspect? Because I was expecting a reaction but not this kind of one. Has the case reopened?

SEAN

_ (ignoring CHARLIE and sighing in relief as someone picks up the phone) _

Joe! Come to my place. Now!... Do I know- Yes, I know what time it is! I need you over here… Is that Nadine? Nadine, convince him to come. You too, you have to come too… My brother came over- what? Yes, Charlie. Y’know, my older brother? The bum? Yea, yea, that’s him.

CHARLIE

Woah, watch what you say! I'm right here...

_ (takes a swig of beer) _

SEAN

_ (continuing to ignore CHARLIE) _

Anyway, he came over and told me he saw Alistair Bell! ...At a restaurant about a mile near the bog. Right around when Rachel went missing. He was carrying a bloody backpack!

_ (he suddenly pauses, his voice cracking) _

A- a bloody backpack…. Yes, he has a friend, waitress at the time, who can corroborate his story. Her name is Liv- sorry, Olivia- Cohen. Ok… mhm…. I’ll tell him… My door is unlocked.

_ (he slips the phone back into his pocket and turns to Charlie.) _

CHARLIE

Tell me what?

SEAN

That you’re gonna have to repeat everything to the police. Sober, this time. And do you still have that shirt with the blood on it? 

CHARLIE

Ugh. Sounds like a drag. And yea, I think so. I buried it in my closet cause I was low-key spooked. 

SEAN

Yeah, well. You might just be the reason Rachel is avenged. Let’s toast.

_ (he picks up his bottle of beer. CHARLIE does the same.) _

To Charlie Artz- who has finally done something useful for once in his life!

CHARLIE

_ (smiling) _

Nah, man. To Rachel Hart-Kelly- my would’ve been sister-in-law in a kinder world.

SEAN

_ (tearing up, voice cracking) _

To Rachel…

_ (They both down the rest of the bottles before embracing in a vicious hug.) _

  
  


**Scene 7**

_ (the stage is dark. A series of projections flash across the stage. RACHEL tied up and gagged. ALASTAIR passing money to a group of nondescript men. A cop destroying evidence, among many other chilling scenes. Light’s come up on the steps outside a police station. SEAN and NADINE stand in uniform to the side of a podium, where their SHERIFF stands with a microphone. SEAN is off to the side, looking down and wringing his hands. CHARLIE stands next to him. A bunch of reporters with cameras stand in front of the steps, filming.) _

SHERIFF

As most of you know, a five year-old case was just solved today. On May 19th, 2015, a 26 year old woman named Rachel Hart-Kelly disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Due to lack of evidence and a series of missteps by our very own detective and forensics department, the case was closed and she was presumed to have run away. Sean Artz, her fiance, worked tirelessly, believing her killer to still be at large. With the help of his brother, Charlie Artz, and two of my officers, Joseph Martins and Nadine Brown, he was able to find her the man who ordered her death, Alistair Bell. He is currently in custody, and will face a trial on the grounds of murder-for-hire The hit-man he hired to carry out the crime is being tracked down as we speak. Rachel, a life taken too soon, will finally be avenged. Thank you.

_ (Reporters start asking questions. Cameras flash. NADINE and JOE, walk down the steps and approach SEAN and CHARLIE.) _

JOE

Well. The trial’s gonna be one hell of a to-do, but… but at least he won’t walk free y’know?

SEAN

_ (dejectedly) _

I don’t want to go to trial. Why can’t they just go straight to jail?

_ (NADINE sighs and puts her hand on SEAN’S shoulder) _

CHARLIE

Because of justice, Sean, and the government's skewed view of it.

JOE

_ (tentative) _

Rachel’s grandmother contacted me. They’re holding a vigil tonight in memoriam. Be there. Say a few words. You loved her. We… we did too. I’m sure everyone would appreciate it.

NADINE

We’ll be there, of course. Right by your side.

CHARLIE

Me too, I guess.

JOE

I bet Rachel will be there too. Watching over us all. Watching you specifically. She would be so proud. I know it.

SEAN

_ (looking up) _

I do too. She would be proud. So, so proud. But that doesn’t make it easier, does it?

NADINE

No.

SEAN

_ (sad, but with a small sense of confidence) _

But I think, along the way, I’ve cleaned myself up. With our hunt, my thoughts of her moved away from sadness and nostalgia and towards, well, tranquility I guess you can say. I can’t keep holding on to her ghost; I can’t revolve my life around her. What happened to Rachel… it’s a shame. But I’ll carry her memory around with me. I have photographs, her ring. It’s about time I move on. For good this time.

JOE

How are you gonna go about doing that?

SEAN

I’ve got myself a job interview in the morning. And I’m thinking of putting myself back into the dating world. No one will replace Rachel, of course, but they don’t need to. Not anymore.

CHARLIE

That’a boy. I’ll loan you a tie.

SEAN

I don’t want your stinking tie!

_ (Music starts to play and drown out their conversation. The lights slowly dim to black. The theatre is held in dark silence for a moment. A candle light flickers on. Then another, then another. They slowly start to illuminate the stage until the faint outlines of many people are visible. They’re heads are all bowed in remembrance. A woman stands far downstage, glowing slightly. Her clothes are bloody, but she’s smiling. Curtain closes- fin.) _

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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